Editorials
Voting important
Everyone in Hoke County who is eligible to vote should vote
Tuesday in the general election, because it's important.
The results will be particularly important, from congressional to
Hoke County commissioners' to school board members' contests,
because of the state of the national economy and its effect on local
government services.
In the Eighth District congressional race, Hoke voters will help
choose between U.S. Rep. Bill Hefner, a Democrat, and Pinehurst
businessman Harris Blake, a Republican. What this gets down to is
whether the voter wants a Democrat who will help, maintain the
Democratic majority in the House, or at least hold down whatever
Republican gains are made in House races across the country; or
whether the voter wants stronger Republican representation in the
House.
The voter can be assured that Hefner won't vote unanimously
against all Republican legislation and that Blake won't vote in favor
of all Republican legislation. Both shape up as moderates in their
parties.
On the local level, the Hoke voters will choose three county
commissioners and three members of the county board of education.
Both boards, as they are doing now, must decide where to put what
reduced amounts of federal and state money are now available, to go
with county property tax and other income. They have to decide
what services need the money the worst and whether expensive new
construction and/or repairs must be done immediately or can wait,
and how the available funds can be used the most effectively.
The voter must decide what three people running for each board
are most likely to do the jobs the best, and vote accordingly, on
principles, not on personalities or attitudes of favoritism for any
particular group or activities.
In regard to the congressional race, it's true that Hoke's voting
population is small compared with these of the other counties in the
far-flung district, but Hoke's voting is significant.
It goes without saying that Hoke's vote will be especially
significant if the contest between Hefner and Blake is close. Since no
one can know till hours after the polls close whether the race will be
close, it is important to vote.
This is another reason why everyone eligible should get out and
vote. Furthermore, no one is too old to vote, if he or she is properly
registered.
Furthermore, help at the voting place can he had for the asking by
anyone who has a physical handicap which prevents him or her from
marking the ballots properly.
-BL
Give courts more
for fight against crime
Law enforcement officers probably are weeping and wailing and
gnashing their teeth over President Reagan's vow recently to "end
the menace and cripple organized crime" with a S200 million
program.
The program will blanket the U.S. with federal narcotics forces.
Law enforcement, the experienced officers know, is not the whole
solution. The officers can only arrest. They can't convict. Once the
drug tycoon gets into court with his lawyers he has the guarantees of
the Constitution to lean on. and he may be guilty as sin but if the
prosecutor can't come up with the right evidence, legally obtained
under the constitutional guarantees, the mobster will get off the
hook, and all the money the federal government can throw to the
prosecution won't make a bit of difference.
This doesn't mean we ought to junk the constitutional
amendments that protect the accused.
What it does mean is the taxpayers' money would be far better
spent by putting a large part of it into the offices of the courts across
the country, so the courts can hire more prosecutors and give them
enough time and money to nail down the evidence.
What it does mean is the taxpayers' money would be far better
spent by employing more prosecutors so they will have the proper
amount of time and money to nail down the evidence.
And if more must be given to beef up law enforcement manpower,
it also wouldn't hurt to spread some of those millions around local
town and city police departments and county sheriffs departments
to hire the manpower and equipment for the same purpose. Local
police, sheriffs and sheriffs' deputies know the people and the places
of their home territories and this gives them a head start that
"outside" federal agents don't have, in launching and pushing
investigations.
As for^he, long- range battle against drugs, it wouldn't hurt either,
to spcnd^me federal tax money on educating the children, from
elementary through high school about abuse of alcohol and other
drugs.
Throwing a lot of the taxpayers' money at a problem isn't
guaranteed to make the problem go away. It would help, though, to
throw the money in the right directions.
Reagan might learn some lessons by studying the hislory of federal
money-throwing in the 1950s and l%0s.
-BL
ewa - journal
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Letters To The Editor
Businesses Thanked
Editor. The News-Journui
I attended the 30th annual
Register of Deeds Convention in
Wilmington in September. Hoke
County is in District V which
consists of 13 counties which hosted
the Convention. Mrs. Rebecca
Tucker. Register of Deeds of New
Hanover County did a great job as
hostess. There were 64 Register of
Deeds and a host of assistance,
deputies, spouses and vendors who
attended the convention.
I worked hard helping organize
the convention to make it informa
tive and enjoyable. Our slogan for
this year was "Progress is Our
Gold." I attended several work
shops and did learn a great deal. 1
always try to keep up with the
changes my office has through the
legislature.
Some of our guest speakers were
the Hon. Janies B. Hunt. Gover
nor, James C. Green. Lt. Governor.
Rufus Edmisten. Attorney Gen
eral. and Mr. Thad Eure. Secretary
of State. We all enjoyed these and
others as they made our convention
one of the best ever.
1 would like to thank Burlington
Menswear. Michael's Men Shop.
Faberge Inc.. Pauline Fashions.
Howard's Clothiers, Enviro-Chem
Exterminating Co., and Leo's Wig
Fashion for their door prizes and
contributions to make this conven
tion successful.
Again I would like to say thank
you to the above. I really appreciate
you helping me represent Hoke
County. I know all the door prizes
were appreciated and enjoyed and
all those who received them sends
their THANKS.
Delia Maynor
Register of Deeds
City Workers Helped
Editor's note: The News-Journal
was sent a copy of this letter and
asked to publish it by the writer.
Ronald Matthews
City Manager
Raeford. N.C. 28.1 7b
Dear Sir:
On October lb 1 had the
misfortune of having mechanical
failure with my vehicle in the
Raeford area.
It was late in the evening, and it
would appear that my chances of
obtaining assistance would be very
remote.
However, 1 was eventually
greeted by several of your city
employes.
A police officer with the rank of
major and a detective.
Both were not only courteous and
friendly but to my amazement
offered their assistance by locating
a mechanic who could assist me.
Within approximately 10 min
utes a mechanic by the name of
Charles Phillips arrived, who I was
told was also a city employe. He
offered his assistance immediately
with the same cordial approach
given to me by the other two
gentlemen.
I should mention that the repairs
involved (replacement of a water
pump) are not what would be
considered minor repairs.
Fortunately for me, Mr. Phillip!
proved to be a highly skilled
mechanic who completed the task
without any problem, with no
complaints and in a minimum
amount of time.
I was also impressed by his
favorable comments about his job
and employer.
In closing. I hope you will
express my appreciation for as
sistance given me by these city
employes who definitely went be
yond the call of duty. If these
gentlemen are indicative of the
employees of the City of Raeford.
indeed, you have a community to
be proud of.
Sincerely.
Ed Campbell
High Point. N.C.
Position Defended
To the editor:
We would like an opportunity to
respond to Mrs. Jessie McNeill's
letter of October 21.
First of all thank you Mrs.
McNeill. At last we have a
dialogue and if we don't hear from
educators publicly, nothing will
ever be solved.
We would, however, like to
make certain clarifications:
? We stated that there were
several excellent teachers, and
some otherwise. We never singled
any teacher out for praise or con
demnation. 1 don't believe that
anyone would be naive enough to
suggest that all teachers are of the
same academic excellence.
? It was implied that our
criticism was voiced without our
hasing any first hand knowledge
of the school system.
1 (Brad Turley) worked in the
Hoke County system for nearly
five years.
I was also the Chairman of the
Scurlock Elementary Parent Ad
visory Council for two years as
well as district representative.
My wife and 1 personally know
some 30 or more teachers and most
all of the administrators.
We have no personal animosity
towards any of them. We firmly
believe that you can separate con
constructive criticism and bile.
? It was implied that we too
may have ambitions. Guilty as
charged!
However, we do not covet posi
tion or elevation for ourselves.
We have five children in Hoke
County Schools and we wish only
the very best for them and their
piers.
Finally, we hope that all five of
our children are fortunate enough
to pass through and be influenced
by Mrs. McNeill.
It is obvoius that she is a
dedicated professional teacher.
It is not our intent to give up on
the system but to stimulate a ge
nuine desire to continually im
prove our schools and hence the
future of our children.
Brad & Shirley Turley
Raeford
Challenge Offered
To the editor:
I was so pleased to read Mr. Lin
dau's column the other week con
cerning the Sandhill's Youth
Center's "I Can" organization.
As the young men are trying to
reshape their lifestyles before they
become productive members of
society, contact with service
organization individuals can hasten
the process.
The ? staff of Hoke County
Children's Center was graciously
welcomed to tour the facility at
Sandhills Friday afternoon, Oc
tober 22.
The educational, recreational
and counseling staff at the minimal
custody prison offer a well round
ed exposure to new life experiences
for each young man; a concen
trated effort is being made to build
self-esteem.
Our center was pleased to
receive a $50 donation from Joe
Nash, president of the 1 CAN club,
as proceeds from a car wash
benefiting the Children's Center.
The guys w ant to care and share to
prove they CAN make a difference
in the quality of other person's
lives.
I challenge other clubs and
organizations to follow the Hoke
County Children's Center's lead.
Call J. P. Smith (944-3250) and
arrange a tour for your group. You
will be enlightened and may
discover a way you can help
yourself and the young men to
grow .
Sincerely,
Anne H. Johnson, Director
Hoke County Children's Center
Puppy Creek
Philosopher
Dear editor:
In depressed economic times
some people who still have money
to invest pay more attention to the
business news in newspapers and
magazines, seeing what the stock
market is doing, which stocks are
bringing the best returns, what the
prime rate is. what the money
market interest rate is. what bonds
are bringing the best returns, etc.
But there's one investment busi
ness editors have completely over
looked .
What is the rate of return on
investments in politicians? How
safe is that type of investment?
The best 1 can figure, around $35
million is being invested in politi
cians this year alone. Maybe more.
Special interest groups, called
PACs, have contributed $250 mil
lion to Congressional candidates
who see things their way or at least
will close their eyes and vote that
way.
On top of that, candidates raise a
lot of money on their own. In one
state a candidate for the U.S.
Senate has raised $2 million. In
another a candidate for Governor
raised $10 million for his race. A
Congressional candidate who can't
raise at least $200,000 is considered
an odd-ball not worth investing in.
When you remember that most
candidates have opponents who're
also raising money, and you calcu
late the number of races there arc
this year, from Congress to Gov
ernors to State Legislators to big
city mayors and on down to county
offices, you can see that at least
$350 million is being invested in
politicians.
I have some questions: Why
don't business editors figure up
what the rate of return is on an
investment in a candidate? How
does buying a politician compare
with buying a money market CD?
Which earns the most for you. a
municipal bond or a Congressman?
Moreover, if you invest in a
candidate and he loses or he wins
and then double-crosses you, will
the IRS allow you to write it off as a
legitimate business loss?
It seems to me the financial
editors of big city newspapers ought
to dig up this sort of financial
information for the benefit of the
investing public.
Your* faithfully,
J. A.
It's a Small ^^orld
" by Bill Lindau
The gate at the dog pound in
Raeford is locked to keep people
out.
But it didn't stop somebody from
getting in.
The fence was torn open by the f
unidentified stranger apparently so
he (or she) could get his (or her)
dog (or cat) back without paying
the S10 pickup charge or the S2.50
a day boarding charge.
He (or she) may have gotten his
(or her) dog (or cat) back.
But in the process, about 25 cats
escaped.
Nothing about dogs escaping was
reported, though. |
* * *
Speaking of dogs and cats, we've
got a cat neighbor named Blue
(though she's solid, long-haired
black). Blue isn't scared of dogs.
She treats them according to their
individual dispositions.
If one particular dog ap
proaches, she'll slip under a car. ?
But when Lulu started picking at '
her, she just remained lounging in
her yard and put up with it for a
while. Then, probably getting tired
of it. she suddenly attacked the
dog. The dog immediately backed
off and left, probably more con
fused than scared. I did see another
attack a dog. though. The dog got
too close to her newborn kittens. So
she ran it off. q
? ? ?
The Special Olympics won't be
held till next March or April.
But the members of Den 8. Cub
Pack 404. were getting an early
start raising money. They were
downtown October 15 after school
selling candy to help raise money
for the games, which the students
in the classes for the handicapped g
compete in.
? ? *
Couple of bees were flying south
for the winter when they got low on
fuel. One said to the other. "Look,
there's a Gulf station down there.
Let's fill up.
"I can't." the other said. ^
"Why not?" his buddy asked. Q
"Because I'm an Esso bee. he
replied. I know it was changed to
"Exxon" a long time ago, but
"Exxon" doesn't work in the little
joke, which was invented some time
before "Esso" was replaced by
"Exxon."
A student at Salem College.?
awoke in her dormitory room one*J
night to find a strange man
rummaging around. On seeing the
student had awakened, the man
headed for an open window. The
student didn't try to stop him. She
reached over and took his wallet
out of his pocket as he was going
out the window .
Letters Policy
Letters to the editor are
encouraged and welcomed.
Writers should keep letters as
short as possible. Names, ad
dresses and telephone numbers
should be included and all
letters must be signed. Names
will be printed, however, other
information will be kept confi
dential. We reserve the right to
edit letters fo good taste and
brevity. Le...-rs should be re
ceived bv the News-Journal by
5 p.m. on the Monday of the
publication week.
Sleep Late
Sunday Morning
Time goes backward at 2
a.m. Sunday, back to Eastern
Standard Time.
People should set their
clocks back an hour by then to
get them off Eastern Daylight
Time.
Otherwise they'll find them
selves all alone in church with
Sunday School still going on.
Smoke y Soyi:
/Am~A
' "?s?
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